Amari Islands
The Amari Islands is a cluster of six islands far to the south, beyond Keetongu's homeland and Visorak. It is home to a small village of Matoran, predominantly of the Southern Lightning tribe, and is featured in Inferna Firesword's Heroes and Halflings series. History Not much is known of the area's history. The islands were created by the Great Beings, along with many other islands in the universe, and were colonized soon afterwards by a band of Matoran, led by the Elder Toa of Lightning Amaria, whose name was given both to the largest island and to the chain as a whole. Over the millenia, the islands became predominantly inhabited by Southern Lighting Matoran, though they sometimes had other tribes living with them. They also adopted a new way to evolve: using a feature called the Elemental Well to create Toa and Turaga, they effectively bypassed Destiny in favor of choice. This, however, had a consequence in that a great deal of pressure was placed on the current Toa to pick the "right" choice as their successor after the current Turaga died. This was clearly exhibited with the Toa Stara, who was rejected out of scorn by her people and unjustly exiled. The injustice was discovered 999 years after the Great Cataclysm, and she was restored to her place as the Toa of the Amaris. Recently, the halfling Deimos had invaded the chain, with the intent of stealing the powerful Spear of Ajax from the island Notus. He was defeated and destroyed by the current Toa, Stiaye, who weilded the weapon he sought. Geography The landscape of the six islands varies with each, though they all play host to trees and animals native to the chain. Amaria The largest and most northern of the six isles, this island is mostly hilly and mountainous, ending in eastern cliffs that lead to a beach and dock at the bottom. The village of Xi-Koro is located within the hilly, eastern area, along with the graveyard and the Xi-Kini. Mount Moonpeak, the highest elevated part of the island, can be found in the northwest part of it. Xi-Koro A village built by the first settlers of the chain, it is home to several hundred beings, predominatly of the Southern Lighting Matoran tribe. It is ringed by a wall and is located at the base of several hills that face towards the sea, as protection against pirates. The village huts are arranged in a formation like that of the Three Virtues symbols, with the Suva, the current Turaga's hut, and the current Toa's hut being found in the center. Xi-Kini/Elemental Well The temple on the Amari Islands, dedicated to the Lightning element. The path to it and the temple itself is described as very peaceful and calming, quiet enough to hear footsteps on the grass. There are no walls or ceiling to restrain the forest around it, and a pool of mountain water spills into a small pond near the rock wall. In the center of the temple lies a circle of stone: the Elemental Well. According to Xi-Matoran legend, it reaches into the core of the universe, and the Toa Power sacrified into its depths will be reborn as lightning storms across the world. The lives of Toa of the Amaris begin and end here, as the sacrifice of their predessors begin them and their own sacrifice will end it. Unnamed Islands A trio of islands lying to the east of Amaria, they are very small, only having about three kio of land between them. However, the land there is very fertile, and much of the farming in the chain is done here. Enyo The southernmost of the islands, Enyo is a bleak island, more a rock platform than an island. The Xi-Matoran mostly ignore it, since it can't be used for much other than exploration and play, but when they do visit the island, they do so at low tide, mooring their boats in a sea cave and traveling to the top via a carved staircase created by ancient Po- and Onu-Matoran. Unbeknownst to the Matoran, the island housed a small store of energized protodermis beneath the rock, a fact exploited by the Makuta Deimos, Tageria, and Hecate when they used it to turn Deimos into a halfling. He made his base here, but both he and his base were destroyed by the Toa Stiaye, Japoro, Amphitrite, and Aeolus. Notus An island that is the furthest east, it is compromised of black rock, like Enyo, but is much larger than the other island. A strip of sand leads to a ramp up to the top of the island, where the only real landmarks is where seven stones - one large, the others small and circling around it - stand in the center. The island is usually enshrouded by mist, and it has garnered a reputation of being haunted from the native Matoran, mainly from the feeling of fear the island gives them and the irregular claims of ghost sightings. Only recently have these reports been confirmed. The island is haunted by a legion of ghosts - the souls of Toa and Turaga slain by Makuta and halflings in combat - whose duty was to guard an ancient artifact called the Spear of Ajax, buried beneath the island's surface. Underworld Gates The first of these doors to the compound of captured souls is the in the giant rock that rests in the center of the island, accessible only by turning a disk of stone so its carving of a spear is facing up at the sky, at which point a door will open. The second is found in a chamber where a triple-headed Muaka cat will challenge anyone who enters, forcing them to fight without weapons. After defeating it, the cat will fade, and by repeating the above process on another carving, one can continue on. Hall of Statues This chamber is after the second Underworld Gate, and - as its name suggests - it is filled with statues with glass eyes. These statues represent each Toa spirit that is bound to the island, and can serve as surrogate bodies for the souls that live on Notus. The eyes of the statues glow green when a spirit inhabits them, and a pair guard the wall to the Cavern of Souls. Cavern of Souls The heart of Notus resembles the village of Onu-Koro (minus doors), and is the main place the spirits dwell in their imprisonment on Notus' astral plane. It is the location of their Wall of History, detailing the story of how the Kingdom of Souls came to be, and the largest building is the home of the current Spirit Chieftain and their entourage. In the back is another tunnel that leads to the Chamber of Ajax, and this tunnel is the most dangerous, since the Dark Ones - exiled ghosts that have been corrupted by the black rock - lurk there. They will drain all the energy from both the living and the death, which effectively turns the target into one of them. Chamber of Ajax This is the deepest room in the island, and the smallest. Normally occupied by the desceased Fire Toa Ajax and his companion, Lightning Toa Audra, they are the final guards of Ajax's powerful weapon. To weild it, one must share a vision of the future with Ajax, which they have no power to change. Those that pass this test can touch the Spear, but not use it, unless Destiny decrees they will. Population Matoran The population of the islands is predominately made up of Southern Matoran of Lightning, though a few Matoran of other tribes call the Amaris home, most notably a Ko-Matoran named Kouki. Turaga Currently, the present leader of the people is a Lightning Turaga named Stara, the former Toa of the Amaris. Toa As with the Turaga of the chain, the Toa is predominantly a Lightning Toa, who changes with each passing of power. The current Toa is a female named Stiaye. Other For most of the chain's history, a host of Toa spirits have lived beneath the island of Notus, bond by an ancient curse. With Stiaye becoming the bearer of the Spear of Ajax, their curse has ended, and they have since left the islands for places unknown. Category:Locations Category:Islands